Charles Warner|Daily Times This house at 120 Sims Drive was destroyed Saturday morning by a fire that authorities say began when combustible materials store near a water heater ignited.

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Charles Warner|Daily Times The fire that destroyed a house on Sims Drive Saturday morning began in a storage room but raced quickly into the attic where it caused the roof to collapse.

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The combination of a water heater and combustible materials proved to be a recipe for disaster for a Sims Drive resident whose home was destroyed by fire Saturday morning.

Union Public Safety Director Sam White said Monday that firefighters from the Union Public Safety Department and the Monarch and Southside fire departments were dispatched Saturday at 9:57 a.m. in response to a fire at 112 Sims Drive. Firefighters would remain on the scene until 12:14 p.m. when the fire was fully extinguished. Despite firefighters’ best efforts, White said the house appeared to be a total loss with a collapsed roof.

White said the fire began when items stored next to the house’s water heater ignited.

“It appears that the hot water heater ignited some items that were stored in the room,” White said. “The fire then burned through the ceiling of the storage room and into the attic.

“Once it got in the attic it took the roof out,” he said. “It (the house) is pretty well gone. The building and most of its contents were destroyed by the fire.”

No one was injured in the blaze.

White saidthe fire is an example of what can happen when flammable materials are stored near a water heater, especially a gas one.

“If someone has a a hot water heater inside their house or under their home they need to make sure there’ nothing flammable or combustible around it,” White said. “This is especially true with a gas heater which has an open flame.”